Growin' Pains - Hardcover

Christian, Mary Blount

4.13

15 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027184900 ISBN 13: 9780027184907

Publisher: Atheneum, 1985

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Twelve-year old Ginny Ruth feels stifled in her small, dying Texas town, despite her special relationship with physically impaired Mr. Billy.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6 Ginny Ruth is a 12 year old growing up in a dirt-poor town in 1948. She despises her life of poverty and longs to leave Clemmons, Texas, in order to get a better education. She becomes friendly with Mr. Billy, a deformed man who understands her love of poetry and learning. At the end, Ginny Ruth accepts the fact that her father, who deserted her and her mother three years before, will not return and begins to understand her mother a little better. She and her mother join a cotton-picking crew so that she can save money to leave Clemmons when she is older. The plot moves along slowly; some vignettes of small-town life are given in far too much detail. Children may become bored with the historical background, which sometimes is not well integrated into the story. However, Ginny Ruth's character is developed quite well, and the changing relationship between Ginny Ruth and her stubborn, proud mother is particularly effective. Christian has honed in on the misery of poverty, the activities and closeness of a small rural community and the determined spirit of a girl who refuses to settle for what is. Bonnie L. Raasch, C. B. Vernon Middle School Media Center, Marion, Iowa
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Christian's reputation rests solidly on over 50 books for children, all written with the grace and insight that distinguish this story. In 1948, Ginny Ruth Grover is 12, living with her mother in economically depressed Clemmons, Tex., pop. 287. Ginny and her "Maw" are the poorest of the poor. The father, whom the girl remembers wistfully for his genial ways, has deserted his stern wife and child. Maw's parents live nearby but Ginny is forbidden to acknowledge them; her mother and grandparents haven't spoken to each other since they had objected to her marrying Grover. Yearning to "be somebody," Ginny writes poems and hopes to grow into a writer, despite Maw's disapproval of wasting time that should be invested in work. As the grim winter passes, Ginny's kindness to a severely afflicted man and his wife evokes their love and concern. Their help, along with the reconciliation of Maw with her parents, are blessings that encourage Ginny to believe in herself and in better times. Readers wil root for her and all the people in Christian's remarkable novel.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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